Objective
The riparian forests that flank the major rivers in the Amazon Basin form a highly distinct ecosystem that connects the most biodiverse aquatic and terrestrial environments on the planet. These ‘flood forests’ are inundated for periods of up to six months each year. But although submerged part of the year, flood forests are susceptible to forest fires during the dry season, especially in El Niño (ENSO) drought years. Surprisingly, flood forests poorly regenerate after burning, and after repeated burning can transition to a savanna-like state in which the forest appears unable to regenerate altogether. Our previous field surveys and experiments suggest that seed dispersal limitations may play a fundamental role in understanding the resilience of flood forests to fire perturbations. Fire destroys the seed bank completely. We hypothesise that forest regeneration is arrested by limited seed dispersal as burnt treeless stands affect fish communities and the capacity to retain incoming seeds. Amazonian fishes heavily exploit flood forests during the rainy season. Most flood forest trees produce fruits and seeds during the time of high water, coinciding with the arrival of fishes. Fishes may play an important role as dispersal agents for flood forest trees, as tree seeds have been found in the stomachs of >200 fish species. The reduced input of seeds in burned areas suggests that fishes avoid entering these sites, resulting in a positive feedback that helps to keep these areas in a state of sparse tree cover. In the proposed research, we will assess the ecological barriers that explain arrested regeneration of Amazonian flood forests by evaluating the pathways of seed dispersal and the effects of fire on the composition and abundance of fish communities. Understanding the regeneration of flood forests after fire will become increasingly relevant as extreme ENSO drought events and their associated fires are predicted to become more frequent.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology ichthyology
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes el niño
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2016
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
76131 Karlsruhe
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.